Decks are ready for the budget session of the Tripura assembly to commence on Friday, during which the state's Finance Minister, Pranajit Singha Roy, will present his maiden full-fledged State budget for the fiscal year 2023-24 on the first day of the 4-day long session.
A Bill on the Goods and Service Tax (GST) will also be tabled in the session.
According to Tripura assembly Secretary Bishnu Pada Karmakar, the session will continue until July 13.
| Read Previous year's Budget here : Dy CM places Rs 26892.67 cr budget for 2022-23 |
The delay in presenting the state budget in the normal months of February-March was due to the assembly elections held on February 16.
Ahead of the Budget session, the state's opposition leader, Animesh Debbarma, vehemently opposed the recently formed script selection committee for the Kokborok language by the government and questioned its purpose. Kokborok is the language franca of most of the indigenous people of Tripura.
Speaking at a press conference in Agartala, Debbarma raised concerns about the Script committee's objective, highlighting previous statements by Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha supporting the use of the Roman script for the Kokborok language. Debbarma also criticized the composition of the committee for not including key stakeholders from the student fraternity.
Shifting the focus to the recruitment of STGT, Debbarma strongly criticized the government for withholding the publication of results of the examination for the recruitment process, leading to frustration among educated and unemployed youth in the state.
He mentioned that although over 9,000 graduates had appeared for the examinations, a petition was filed with the Tripura High Court challenging the government's notification. The court subsequently dismissed the Government notification, but the government has not yet declared the examination results, leaving the candidates in limbo.
Debbarma demanded that the government take appropriate steps after the High Court dismissed the State Government notification without disregarding the examinations already conducted.
In a separate development, opposition parties have indicated their intention to seek disciplinary action against ruling BJP MLA Jadab Lal Debnath. In March, Debnath was caught on camera watching an obscene video on his mobile phone during a session of the Tripura Assembly.
Opposition leaders, including Jitendra Choudhury from the CPIM and Birajit Sinha from the Congress, have consistently called for action against Debnath for his unethical behavior within the House. (With inputs from IANS)